Let’s get the cliché out of the way, shall we? “Home is where the heart is.” Or so Pamela Isley wants to believe in the opening pages of Poison Ivy #13 by G. Willow Wilson, Guillem March, Marcio Takara, Kelley Jones, A.L. Kaplan, Jose Villarrubia, Arif Prianto, and Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou. This issue opens a new arc for the award-winning and, at this point, universally-beloved title. Poison Ivy has at last been reunited with both her beloved Harley Quinn and her old home, Gotham City. But is Harley enough to keep Ivy within city limits — and Batman’s territory? Maybe so, but this issue explores Ivy’s Gotham hang-ups with the usual character-driven writing and some unusual (though definitely welcome) artistic detours.
SPOILERS AHEAD for Poison Ivy #13!
The issue opens in an idyllic domestic space and then takes Ivy further and further from that space, until she eventually ends up in her home’s dark mirror. But before then: “home is where the heart is,” and Pam’s heart has long been with Harley Quinn, with whom she has finally been reunited. Harley/Ivy fans have been treated again and again by this series as Wilson, Takara, and the other Poison Ivy creators have worked over the course of the past year to develop and deepen this anti-heroic love story. That work pays off in the opening page of the issue as Harley and Ivy wake wrapped up in each other, perfectly at home in a rumpled bed dappled in sunshine.
That peace, of course, can never last long in Gotham City.
DC Comics
Once Ivy leaves that “perfect” domestic safety, her day is filled with unwelcome encounters: first Catwoman, then (shudder to think!) Batman, and finally a stand-off with Killer Croc that ends in tentative allyship. As has long been the case — for an entire year now, as the title debuted during DC’s 2022 Pride line-up — the real strength of Poison Ivy is its strong point-of-view, especially as G. Willow Wilson continues to shepherd and shape Ivy’s character into a distinctly anti-heroic figure. Readers have spent so long in Ivy’s head that it’s easy to see her as a “straight” (ha!) hero, but this issue reconfigures that misconception and reasserts the “anti” portion off the equation. Ivy’s stand-off with Batman in Robinson Park is a particularly masterful bit of character work; we, as readers, are finally reintroduced to Batman, a character whose history with Ivy places her firmly as someone not only dangerous, but even cruel and sadistic. Ivy may hate Batman, but he will always be part of how we understand her character, and he’s the perfect tool for demonstrating that Ivy will never-ever be that kind of moralistic hero.
Another point in the Batman scene’s favor: Kelley Jones’ art. Jones’ work has always brought the drama to Batman, from the ’90s to now, and this short Batman vs. Ivy scene is no exception. I have to say: I didn’t realize how much I, personally, was anticipating the Batman and Poison Ivy reunion, especially since I was so swept up in the Harley/Ivy drama. But once I realized Jones would be the one to officially reunite these adversaries — frenemies? maybe? — my excitement was off the charts. He brings the drama, indeed.
And Kelley Jones isn’t the only artist to bring their A-game to Poison Ivy #13. Guillem March reunites Ivy and Catwoman for a quick tête-à-tête, and A.L. Kaplan, who recently contributed the fabulous Circuit Breaker to DC lore, brings Pam to Slaughter Swamp and her tentative ally: Killer Croc. Kaplan’s dreamy, psychedelic style feels particularly suited to Poison Ivy, and hopefully this brief swamp scene isn’t his last contribution to Pam’s story.
I would also be remiss not to mention Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou’s distinct lettering, which is always noticeable, but only in the best way possible; in an issue with four unique pencillers, the lettering is the thread that connects the patchwork. Otsmane-Elhaou’s lettering is as much part of Poison Ivy’s voice as Wilson’s writing.
DC Comics
But let’s get back to that lingering cliché: “home is where the heart is.” I’ve now mentioned it three times, but only because the idea of “home” is so essential to Poison Ivy #13. Ivy wants to make a home with Harley Quinn, but she can never feel at home in Gotham City, so she attempts to dig herself a hidey-hole in Slaughter Swamp, which leads her to the deal she makes with Killer Croc: if she destroys Lex Luthor’s luxury condo building project, then Croc’s hunting shack in the swamp is all hers. Poison Ivy has followed Pam as she slowly becomes more and more socially-conscious, and this is the next anti-gentrification step in her journey.
Ivy may be taking on this job as an act of selfishness — she’s still an anti-hero, after all, and she’s ultimately out for her own (and Harley’s) well-being — but when she “infiltrates” the building site, she sees these luxury condos for what they are: “a tomb for wealth.” Poison Ivy #13 begins in Ivy and Harley’s modest apartment, made lovely by their love. The issue ends in the shell of “homes” made for the uber-wealthy to dump their capital. Two bookends, each touching on the questions of home and housing. Is Poison Ivy really at home with Harley Quinn in Gotham? We’ll have to tune in to the rest of this new arc to find out.
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